My Cliftons are still my favorite AEs out of my three pairs as well. I have them in Walnut, the last is probably the most comfortable out of all the AEs I've tried.

Yes they are indeed comfortable and very versatile if your wardrobe consists of odd trousers and dress shirts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinc2162

Don't let me see you in Toronto or I will have to take them away from you...

Haha I gotta be careful! Any update on your AE purchase progress? I recall you were trying to find Cliftons in your size from the Shoe Bank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dacapojordan

Hey you all, I posted a few pages back about a pair of Elgins I just got, first pair of AE's and really my first pair of decent leather shoes overall. So I'm a little conflicted at the moment. I can't justify keeping these unless they fit right, so I want to be double sure before I either keep them or unload them, since they look great. I am a 8.5 or a 9, usually go by the european sizes for buying shoes, since I've never gone wrong getting a EU size 42 on the conversion charts. I found these Elgins which had been worn maybe 3 or 4 times on eBay in 8.5D which AE lists as their 42, so I jumped on it - it was a good deal, 160 shipped. After getting them I was a little worried... But let me describe the fit issues and I hope that perhaps you guys could shed some light onto what I should do.

First of all, to get them snug on my foot, I have to tighten the laces all the way to where the two halves of the lace-up portion of the shoe form a straight line, in other words, I have to tighten them to where I cannot tighten them anymore. Is this normal and/or okay, or will this become an issue once the shoes break in and make the shoes too loose?

Also, as far as length goes, I have a bit of heel slippage. If I push my foot all the way forward I have clearance varying from 1/4" to 1/2" between the back of my heel and the heel of the shoe. I've read that sometimes heel slipping can go away with wear on thick soled shoes, but I would think the leather would stretch naturally and make the shoe a bit looser, so is it really worth the chance here?

Obviously I am a bit skeptical of keeping these shoes and am leaning towards not, especially since I don't want to be in the hole for nice shoes that won't be in it for the long haul. However, I would really like to hear any advice you guys may have, if these are actually a good fit, I wouldn't want to ditch them and have to wait for the next great deal to come my way. Appreciate the help!

From what I have heard the Elgin fits a half size large. So maybe that is why you are finding them a tad long. Maybe post pictures of you wearing them as well so people can evaluate the fit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spitshine123

My $99 Amoks came today. They fit great! I love the 4 last because it is chiseled, but not too narrow. I made sure to order the newer model (model number the same as the one on the current AE site) as to avoid the squeaking problems I've read about

I have decided that I will be returning my black PA's for something more suitable for a business casual intern. I will be visiting the outlet in Charleston to get fitted again and check the other styles out in person, and have narrowed it down to two:

Does anyone have any preference to these, or any other style suggestions? I'd like a versatile blucher, something that can look nice without looking too much like "that guy". It also gives me a good staple to build on once I get a feel for the specific attire and atmosphere of the office. .

My $99 Amoks came today. They fit great! I love the 4 last because it is chiseled, but not too narrow. I made sure to order the newer model (model number the same as the one on the current AE site) as to avoid the squeaking problems I've read about

Those look great! They look similar to the Cole Haan LunarGrand Chukkas I recently bought - which by the way are probably THE most comfortable chukkas I have ever had. Feels like you're wearing a sneaker. Super light and stylish.

First, here are some pictures of the heel slipping. This is a little less pronounced on the right foot, which is pictured. I'm yanking decently on the shoe to pull it that far, but it is a bit loose when walking as well.

Here's the tops, notice that I have to tighten them to this point in order for them to be snug on my foot:

And finally, here's a shot of the heel on the left foot, which is looser than the right. This is the gap in the heel when I push my foot all the way forward.

Appreciate any advice, I want to make the right decision here, since these things are beautifully made.

Cold iron after seeing them how would you of polished them. Would you done a quick coat of black wax

There is a great example of color change back a few pages with wax. However it takes a LOT of coats and time to do it with just wax.

My plan especially after seeing them was to first use saddle soap and scrub them down well with hot water and saddle soap several times. AE recommends saddle soap for treating Dublin leather. I only use fiberings 100% glycerin bar saddle soap. The scientific community uses glycerin and just that (maybe a little bit of lanolin with it) to treat and preserve leather. After several several cleanings with a sponge, hot water and soap let dry completely over night. Cleaning the surface will help anything you add sink in better. Cutting with something like Reno'mat would be even better with calf but with Dublin I have no idea what the results would be outside of saddle soap which has proven to be safe. Cream works better than polish for color change in my experience, but it is more permanent and harder to undo. After they are dry the next thing I would do is test a spot off to the side of the tongue with some neatsfoot oil to see what happens. My thought is that it should darken it, you can control the amount of darkness by the number of coats of neatsfoot oil. Seer did this and I followed suit to darken our tan Dublin McTavish which were too light for our taste.

After 4 coats they were about as dark as my Elgin's:

It also brings out the highlights even more.

If the test spot is successful I would use black shoe cream along the stitching using the wingtip photo as a template. After brushing that out I was going to use AE chili premium wax which contains a fair amount of cream. Depending on results of that I would alternate between black and burgundy paste wax to get the desired results. And the wax will provide a good amount of waterproofing as bucksfan Amsterdam's with clear wax the other day are proof. And I will second it.

Not that I have given any thought to this over the last couple of days LOL. Good luck and post pictures when your done no matter what you do.

There is a great example of color change back a few pages with wax. However it takes a LOT of coats and time to do it with just wax.

My plan especially after seeing them was to first use saddle soap and scrub them down well with hot water and saddle soap several times. AE recommends saddle soap for treating Dublin leather. I only use fiberings 100% glycerin bar saddle soap. The scientific community uses glycerin and just that (maybe a little bit of lanolin with it) to treat and preserve leather. After several several cleanings with a sponge, hot water and soap let dry completely over night. Cleaning the surface will help anything you add sink in better. Cutting with something like Reno'mat would be even better with calf but with Dublin I have no idea what the results would be outside of saddle soap which has proven to be safe. Cream works better than polish for color change in my experience, but it is more permanent and harder to undo. After they are dry the next thing I would do is test a spot off to the side of the tongue with some neatsfoot oil to see what happens. My thought is that it should darken it, you can control the amount of darkness by the number of coats of neatsfoot oil. Seer did this and I followed suit to darken our tan Dublin McTavish which were too light for our taste.

After 4 coats they were about as dark as my Elgin's:

It also brings out the highlights even more.

If the test spot is successful I would use black shoe cream along the stitching using the wingtip photo as a template. After brushing that out I was going to use AE chili premium wax which contains a fair amount of cream. Depending on results of that I would alternate between black and burgundy paste wax to get the desired results. And the wax will provide a good amount of waterproofing as bucksfan Amsterdam's with clear wax the other day are proof. And I will second it.

Not that I have given any thought to this over the last couple of days LOL. Good luck and post pictures when your done no matter what you do.

Cold iron I see you post a picture of a Elgin and was not sure that message was for me since what I want to do is burnish or darken my new pair of Krause